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Urban Renewal
Oregon City has one urban renewal area, the Downtown/Northend URA. The URA includes Downtown Oregon City, Singer Hill Road and High Street in the Historic McLoughlin area, the area around The Cove and Abernathy Road to Highway 213. Please refer to the Downtown/Northend URA map for more details.
What Kinds of Projects Urban Renewal Supports
Activities eligible for urban renewal funding generally include:
- Rehabilitation or conversation work
- Real property acquisition
- Demolition, removal, or rehabilitation of buildings and improvements
- Installation, construction, or reconstruction of streets, utilities, and site improvements
- Assisting in the relocation of persons
- Disposition of property acquired in the urban renewal area
- Undertaking and carrying out neighborhood development programs.
Activities that are typically ineligible for urban renewal funding include non-capital improvements, temporary improvements, and grants or loans for operating expenses.
Management of the Urban Renewal Area
The Economic Development Department manages the property and programs on behalf of the City Manager and the Urban Renewal Commission.
Documents
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James Graham
Economic Development ManagerPhone: 503-496-1552
- How is an Urban Renewal Plan financed?
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Urban renewal is funded by tax increment revenue. The private investment attracted by public urban renewal investments results in increased property values within the district. These increased property values bring in greater property taxes within the district, which are then used to pay off bonds sold to finance the revitalization efforts. This unique funding mechanism is called tax increment financing (TIF).
- How does Tax Increment Financing work?
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Urban renewal is funded by tax increment financing (TIF). At the time an urban renewal plan is adopted, the county assessor calculates the total assessed value of the area and establishes this value as the "frozen base" for the area.
Taxes from that frozen base continue going to all of the taxing jurisdictions. Growth above the base is called the "increment". Taxes from the increment, called tax increment revenue, go to the urban renewal agency for projects within the urban renewal area.
- What is Maximum Indebtedness?
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Maximum indebtedness is the total amount of tax dollars that may be spent on the projects, programs, and administration in an urban renewal area.